Favorite single-screen games

[Randorama]

Roo:

Thanks a lot, and yes: I was playing the arrangement title and I was wondering if, by chance, other later titles existed that featured the same approach to the franchise.

I had a brief look at the fandom wiki, and it seems that there is a ton of games, though the arcade ones are the original Pac Man series (i.e. Pac Man, Ms. Pac Man, Super Pac Man, Pac Man Jr., Pac Land, Pac Mania and Pac Man Arrangement).
Pac Mania does not really count as a single-screener, but it is too good not to be mentioned in this post

There are also a lot of ports and console originals that include 3D mazes...but I guess that I can save those for later (like, the 2030's at this "gaming rate").
Would you be able to ask your friends if they can suggest good clones/games within the same micro-genres?
Raimais is a given, but I believe that there should be 2-3 more titles there are more or less worth mentioning, I believe.

[Sumez]

Ok, Pac-Man Arrangement looks genuinely fun. Is it possible to snatch the Jamma PCB nowadays without paying a fortune?

[Marc]

Ok, Pac-Man Arrangement looks genuinely fun. Is it possible to snatch the Jamma PCB nowadays without paying a fortune?

It's brilliant, I'm currently bouncing between that and Mania on the recent comp.
Also getting into Rod Land lately. Always thought the main sprite was too big, but the hit box must be tiny, along with the ladder mechanic it's possible to pull off some quite flashy evasion in a pinch.

[Sumez]

Rod-Land is amazing, I'm glad it's on ACA now. The NES port is really shoddy, and oddly the Amiga was the only platform to ever get a decent one.
Friend of mine is gonna stream the game for our 1CC Arcade Marathon this Saturday: https://horaro.org/shed1ccrev2/1ccschedule
Hope I can talk him into doing the second game mode too, because the default game is a bit on the easy side.

[sunnshiner]

Ah, yeah, Rodland is ace!

Bomb Jack is brill and I have a soft spot for Crystal Castles too.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Randorama: Sorry, guess I'm preaching to the choir then! =D

I recently got to try Pac-Man 256 at a meet. It's not single screen but rather a chaotic infinite scroller where you're racing to keep ahead of a zone that'll kill you. I'm not sure it'd be amazing in single player but with 4 players it was hilariously fun. It was on the Switch collection that has a bunch of the games in the series.

Sumez: Tops has one for sale. It's gone up a bit in price, I paid about 49000 yen for mine in 2019. https://www.tops-game.jp/products/detai ... ct_id=4257

You're gonna spend a bit of cash because it's got some big names in the collection (though Rally X is not my cup of tea). Dig Dug Arrangement's a lot of fun too. I was quite happy with this purchase because it was also a nostalgia thing for me as a local community center used to have one of these in a cab.

[Sumez]

That's over $600 shipped. Probably around three times higher than my threshold
That's what I get for not being aware of these things in good time.

[Randorama]

Roo:

I may not be exactly part of the choir, but I believe that I like maze games enough to enjoy playing them.
Some background...

As hilarious it may sound, I am spending holiday time to plan future game conquests and I realised that I never 1-CC one title within this genre (...and I am too old to have such a gap in my gaming CV, I daresay).
Pac Mania, Pac Man Arrangement and Raimais (JP) seem the most obvious candidates, though the first title is frankly really beyond my skill level, for now.
I will go with the second and third titles over the next few months, if real life will allow me to do so.

+1 for Rod-Land, the sweet and cutesy game in which you play a cute lil' elf smashing poor li'l enemies left and right. All to save mommy, so it's perfectly acceptable behaviour

Another query: brief comments on Bomb Jack, anyone? There are basically two arcade titles, aren't there?

[sunnshiner]

Another query: brief comments on Bomb Jack, anyone? There are basically two arcade titles, aren't there?

I love Bomb Jack (I play the 'set 1' rom, dunno what the differences are*) and I use an arcade stick with two of the buttons mapped to jump/hover (in Retroarch) with one of them on auto for the hover function.

* edit- a quick google suggests it's just a spelling correction-

https://tcrf.net/Bomb_Jack_(Arcade)

[Air Master Burst]

Bit of a deep cut here, but Jetpack for good old DOS is one of the finest single-screen experiences I've ever played. Collect all the gems in the level to open the door, then get to the door to exit to the next level. Simple! There's 100 levels of varying brutality. Spike traps, conveyor belts, false floors, ice to slide on, the works! Jetpack features a really great lineup of enemies that each have unique behavior (and they can use teleport pads the same as you!), your jetpack requires careful fuel management, and you can use your electro zapper to destroy bricks. Also comes with a truly fantastic level editor, and in true early 90s fashion has a christmas version with alternate sprites and levels.

I spent hundreds of hours on this as a kid in the mid 90s. Can't recommend it enough. Has a dubious-looking sequel I've not yet tried.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Seconding this, I've wasted many hours making hundreds of levels as a kid for Jetpack. There's also some neat tricks you can do such as hovering in place by pressing down while using the jetpack. Even levels without jetpack fuel can be made for fun platforming action.

The sequel indeed looked dubious (I think it was made as a Flash game if I recall) and I've never had a chance to play it either.

The dev also made a puzzle game called Squarez Deluxe but I've never had a chance to try it, either.